Yearning
by born30
Summary: It had been Jason, Tim, and Lyla for as long as any of them could remember. But as Tim Riggins learns, some fires only burn brighter with time.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Friday Night Lights or its characters.

_Rodeo fair_

_Dillon, Texas_

_Late afternoon_

"Smile!" The flash nearly blinded the two boys. "I think your eyes were closed in that one, Tim," said Lyla. Her pigtails were held in place by sparkly ribbons that matched the twinkle in her big brown eyes. "Let me take another."

"No." Jason Street held out a hand out in front of the lens. "You've taken, like, ten already."

"Don't you like me taking your picture, Jason?" she cooed, trying her best to bat thin eyelashes.

Try as he might to ignore her pout, the junior football star smiled stiffly until she took the picture.

"My mom's calling me," she groaned. "Save our place in line, ok?"

Jason rolled his eyes as he watched her scurry away. "Can you believe she talks about us getting married, too? For cripe's sake, we're in sixth grade."

Running a hand though unruly blonde hair, Tim smirked. "Lucky you." He wouldn't admit it to his friend, but he could think of worse things than being married to Lyla Garrity.

"I mean, I like her and all…"

"But you don't see a wedding in your future, Jay?"

"The only thing I care about in my future is becoming QB1 for the Dillon Panthers."

Slapping their hands in a loud 'high 5,' the two guys shouted, "Texas forever!"

They were still laughing when Lyla returned. "What's so funny, you dorks?"

Tim opened his mouth to answer, but it was Jason who piped up first, joking, "Dorks? And I thought you loved me?" He held his hand to his chest in mock pain.

It had been Jason, Tim, and Lyla for as long as any of them could remember. But lately, Tim had felt more and more like the third wheel, especially at times like this.

"Oh no," whined Lyla, looking down at her feet. "I lost my ticket."

"We've been standing in line for the Ferris wheel all this time and it's finally our turn and you can't find your ticket?" snapped Jason.

"I had it, but then I was taking pictures and…"

"Well, you better find it."

Seeing her little face scrunched up in worry, Tim drew in a breath and dug a hand deep into his pocket. "Hey… hey, Lyla." He spoke just above a whisper, tapping her on the shoulder. "I think this is yours." Handing over the scrap of paper, he immediately saw the color return to her rosy cheeks.

She grinned. "Really?"

"Yeah. Remember? I held it for you while you put film in your camera."

"But I didn't…"

"Good," Jason interrupted, tugging on her hand. "Let's go. Are you coming, Tim?"

"Uh," he paused, turning his pockets inside out. Coming up empty-handed, he shrugged, "I must've dropped mine."

Jason rolled his eyes. "You would lose your head if it wasn't attached to your body."

"Yeah," he agreed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "That's what my brother always says."

Stumbling to keep up as the other boy pulled her along, Lyla looked back at Tim. His smile was bittersweet, his movements slow as he stuffed the pockets back into his baggy jeans. Before climbing onto the ride, she lifted her camera once again and snapped a quick photo.

This time, Tim didn't look away.

---------------

_Six years later_

_Rodeo fair_

_Evening _

"Hey, Lyla," muttered Tim, moseying towards her.

Turning around, Lyla's anxious expression rested off to the side, her attention drifting in and out with the light autumn breeze.

"Hi, Tim."

Shoulders sunken in and hands deep in the pockets of his jeans, Tim shifted his weight back and forth, like a seesaw of indecision. Stay or leave, stay or leave…

Stay. "Are you waiting for Jason?"

As if physically pulled back into the conversation, it took Lyla a moment to catch up and respond. Her smile was fleeting, more of a knee-jerk reaction to Jason's name than anything else. "Yeah."

A sudden distant memory – three young friends, joking and laughing at the fair – flew into Tim's mind, making him chuckle.

Noticing his abrupt change in mood, Lyla moved closer. She reached out a hand to nudge his shoulder, but hesitated and withdrew it. "What's so funny?"

He smiled at her, but shook his head.

"Come on," she prodded, feeling like she missed out on a funny joke. "Tell me."

Holding her gaze, he waited until she crossed her arms over her chest and shot him an impatient glare.

"Relax, Garrity." He ran a hand through his untidy hair, dragging it up over his forehead and revealing his handsome face. "Remember when we were kids and we'd come here every year just to ride the Ferris wheel? And Jay would always…"

"Tim…" Her voice cracked.

Without looking up, he knew her face had fallen into a sad frown. His eyes remained glued to the tufts of grass in the earth under his feet. "Yeah, sorry." Finally glancing back, he followed her line of sight to a van driving up to the gates behind them.

While she squinted to see the passengers exit, Tim watched her. She was framed in the twinkling red and blue lights of the Ferris wheel. Her long, silky hair tousled about in the wind and cascaded over slim shoulders; the faded carnival lights caressed her face amidst the night sky.

"You look real nice tonight, Lyla." The words rolled off his tongue without thought.

Speechless, the brunette answered with her eyes – tentative and distant.

His body was frozen, unable to wriggle free beneath her remorseful gaze. Motioning lightly over his shoulder, Tim whispered, "Jason's a lucky guy."

Her face softened, breaking into a smile that painted a warm sunset over his skin. His fingers fiddled with the extra ticket in his pocket. "Do you think…?"

"Jason's here." Not waiting for a response, Lyla walked past him and turned in her stride to smile one last time. "Goodnight, Tim."

Watching her approach the van, he roughly stuffed the ticket back in his pocket.

"Hey, Tim!" Lyla held the small camera phone up to her face.

This time, Tim looked away.

**The End **


End file.
